People use languages to communicate (交流). Any language has its ways to express people's minds. One of the ways in common is the use of idioms(习语). An idiom is a group of words. It has a special meaning that is different from the usual meaning. For example, under the weather is an idiom meaning ill. So when people say "I'm under the weather", they are saying that they're not feeling well. Another example, in all weathers means in all kinds of weather. So, "There are homeless people sleeping on the streets in all weathers" tells us that homeless people sleep on the streets no matter whether it is cold or hot.
Different languages may have different ways to make idioms. For people who are learning a foreign language, idioms could cause misunderstandings and bring them endless problems. On the other hand if things are done right, idioms can also be a fun way of looking into a new culture and understanding how the people think and talk.
Metaphor (比喻) is often used in idioms. Let's read the following two examples:
▪ Example 1: It makes my blood(血液) boil (煮沸) when my brother breaks my computer.
▪ Example 2: The night was dark and quiet; my blood ran cold when I heard a strange noise outside on a dark night.
In neither situation above, can our blood reach the point so high or so low in temperature. However, with the situations the two sentences created, it is not difficult to understand the ▲ feeling in the first example and very afraid in the second.
Of course, not all idioms are this easy to understand. When we come to idioms of a foreign language, a good dictionary of idioms is always suggested.
